News & Notes - June 27

The Columbus Crew hosts Real Salt Lake on Red, White & Crew night this Saturday, June 30, at Crew Stadium. The Black & Gold looks to bounce back from the 2-1 loss suffered at Chicago last Saturday, June 23, that saw midfielder Tony Tchani score his first goal for the Crew. A spectacular fireworks display will follow the match on a night that will also honor every branch of the military.

Saturday’s match will kick off at 8 p.m. and be televised live regionally in high definition on FOX Sports Ohio, with Dwight Burgess and Duncan Oughton calling all the action and Ashleigh Ignelzi reporting from the sidelines. The game can also be heard in English on News/Talk 610 WTVN and on-line at TheCrew.com, with Neil Sika and John Bluem on the call, and in Spanish on La Mega 103.1, with Carlos Cordova and Benny Pietrangelo behind the microphones.

Real Salt Lake (10-5-2, 32 pts.) is coming off a pair of losses at home, most recently a 2-1 setback at the hands of current Western Conference leader San Jose. Salt Lake is led by Costa Rican international Alvaro Saborìo who has tallied seven goals and one assist this season. The Claret & Cobalt can also count on the firepower of Fabian Espindola, who has six goals and three assists but will be without U.S. Men’s National team midfielder Kyle Beckerman who is suspended due to yellow card accumulation.

The Crew is 3-1-3 in its last seven games and 5-5-4 overall (19 pts.). This is the lone match of 2012 between the two clubs. Last year, the Crew took the two-game series with a 2-1 win at home on June 18, behind goals by Andres Mendoza and Josh Gardner, and a historic 2-0 win at Rio Tinto Stadium in which Eddie Gaven notched the game winner while Tommy Heinemann added an insurance goal. Overall the Crew leads the all-time regular season series with a 9-4-1 record.

Next up, the Crew will travel to the province of Quebec to face the Montreal Impact on Sunday, July 8, at 7:30 p.m. at Stade Saputo.

FIRST BARLEY’S POST-GAME PARTY IS THIS SATURDAY
The Crew has signed a new corporate partnership with Barley’s Brewing Company that will see its Ale House No. 1 in Short North (467 N. High St., 43215) host official post-game parties featuring Crew players and fans following select Crew home games. The first of five (5) post-game parties will be held following this Saturday’s game (June 30), with the others tentatively scheduled for July 21, Aug. 15, Sept. 29 and Oct. 7. Budweiser will provide promotional support and Crew items, including autographed memorabilia will also be available at each event.

ALL-STAR VOTING CONTINUES UNTIL JULY 2
As All-Star voting continues at MLSSoccer.com and via text at 22442, the Crew is encouraging fans to continue to vote for their favorite Crew players. Fans can vote for Sebastian Miranda, Milovan Mirosevic, Chad Marshall, Eddie Gaven, Emilio Renteria and Andy Gruenebaum, who has been instrumental this season in the absence of William Hesmer, recording a career-high five shutouts and is second in saves behind Colorado’s Matt Pickens with 57. Voting ends on July 2, and the All-Star First XI, as determined by fans, will be revealed during the ESPN broadcast of the Chicago Fire vs. LA Galaxy on July 8.

CREW JUNIORS U-19s WIN SECOND USYS MIDWEST REGIONAL TITLE IN THREE YEARS
The Crew Juniors Under-19 team, coached by Crew technical director Brian Bliss, won their second regional title in three years at the USYS Midwest Regional Championships in Saginaw, Mich. The 19s started the tournament with an 11-0 win over South Dakota United Madrid on Saturday (June 23), with goals by Chris Davis, Fatai Alashe, Chandler Gagnon, Cole Denormandie (2), Jordan Tyler, Nick Hagglund, Charlie Macias, Matt Hill, Adam Montague and Will Trapp. On Sunday (June 24), the 19s continued their dominance of their group with another commanding win, 9-1 over Kentucky’s United 1996 Internationals, behind goals by Trapp, Denormandie (2), Alashe, Davis, Kofi Agyapong, Montague and Tyler. The Crew Juniors closed out the group stage undefeated with a 3-2 win over Kansas City FC behind goals by Tyler, Trapp and Davis on Monday (June 25). A 3-0 semifinal victory over Wisconsin’s NSC–FCGB followed on Tuesday (June 26), with goals from Will Walker, Matt Walker and Montague. And in Wednesday’s final, goals from Agyapong, Matt Walker and Tyler led Crew Juniors to a 3-1 win over Pacesetter Premier of Toledo. The Crew Juniors U-19s will now attempt to capture their second McGuire Cup national title in three years at the USYS National Championships in Rock Hill, S.C., July 25-29.

CSA U-17/18s SPLIT RESULTS AT DEVELOPMENT ACADEMY PLAYOFFS
The Crew Soccer Academy U-17/18s are at the U.S. Soccer Development Academy Playoffs in Dallas this week and they started the tournament with a 3-0 win over the Players Development Academy (N.J.) behind goals by Nicholas Parianos, Alex Crognale and Zachary Leedom on Monday (June 25). CSA next faced the Baltimore Bays on Tuesday (June 26), but were unable to snap the Maryland team’s 21-game unbeaten streak and fell 3-1 with Parianos scoring the lone Crew goal. The 17/18s need a win against Lonestar SC (Texas) on Thursday, June 28, and a loss by Baltimore against PDA to advance to Development Academy Finals Week from July 16-23 in Houston.